Mother's Day crash still under DA review

Wednesday

Aug 27, 2014 at 12:21 PMAug 27, 2014 at 12:23 PM

Shea Johnson Staff Writer @DP_Shea

HESPERIA — More than three months after a delivery van driven by Joshua Caleb Smith crashed into a car carrying a family of five, killing them all, prosecutors on Wednesday were still reviewing whether or not Smith would face criminal charges, according to San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Chris Lee.In the early morning of Mother’s Day, May 11, Smith was traveling east on Main Street when his van crossed into westbound lanes and collided with a Honda sedan idling at a stop sign on Balsam Avenue, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Doug Hubbard.“The impact caused the delivery van to overturn, come into contact with a telephone pole and come to rest on the car,” Hubbard said at the time.The family inside the Honda, who were on their way to Disneyland, were killed and identified as Gerardo Cruz Jimenez, 30; Angelica Garcia, 25; Cindy Jimenez Garcia, 3; Ivan Jimenez Garcia, 2; and Freddy Garcia, 9, all of Hesperia.Roughly six weeks following the crash, authorities fingered drowsiness from prescription drugs as the cause, ruling out speed and vehicular problems as possible factors.Referring to the toxicology report for Smith, 30, Hubbard told the Daily Press in June that the incident was “not blatant.”“It wasn’t like what you see all the time where someone leaves a bar drunk with twice the legal limit of alcohol,” he said. “It’s not just alcohol, you can drive under the influence of prescription drugs too and he just fell asleep. We don’t believe he even knew he left the roadway.”— Staff writer Anneli Fogt contributed to this report.Shea Johnson may be reached at 760-955-5368 or SJohnson@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DP_Shea.